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Boris Shostak
At first glance A tall and athletic adult werewolf who suffers from post traumatic stress, who has a speech disorder that causes occasional stuttering, and who likes to spend a lot of time swimming and eating food. Boris has a gentle soul that often responds in a child-like manner due to his inexperience with other people. He likes to hum melodies with his soft and soothing voice, but doesn't like to share it with others, fearing it will make him look weak. Occasionally, Boris will let out the angry side of him that will reap through anything that will harm those he cares about, as Boris has mastered his lyncathrope abilities, and is an exceptional athlete and fighter. Personality Boris always keeps to himself. Not because he doesn't like people, but because he doesn't think he deserves to be liked by others. There isn't a day that goes by in which Boris doesn't spend hours pouting and blaming himself for his past. In conversations he often limits what he says to one or two words, possibly because his English is broken, and he is self conscious of his thick accent combined with his occasional stutter, but also possibly because he usually tends to talk down about himself, letting others know that they should not trust him, that he's a monster, a villain. Only people who are truly kind are able to see past his pessimistic aura, in which case he might show a more gentle side to himself, as he experiences new trust in others. He's doesn't know too much outside of his life as a wolf, and therefore, is easily embarrassed, finding it difficult to act normal like everyone else around him. When it comes to the customs of the people in Ember Grove, he often struggles. He doesn't like wearing shoes all that often, which is why he likes working as a lifeguard where he isn't required to. He also struggles in knowing what is the right thing to say, and following common speech. And not having had many experiences outside of his cage, he still holds on to a child like demeanor at times, acting shy and hiding his face from people. Despite always acting defeated, Boris is also dauntless, carelessly throwing himself into danger to protect others. He is hot headed, and can go into fits of rage induced by his PTSD when he is forced to fight. It's because his mind goes to a dark place, back to the dog-fighting rings, and he is put on auto pilot the same way he did when he fought his friends and family, killing them. When it comes to battle, his opponents should be wary of him, as he has never lost a fight - which is why he is still alive. Some of his more happy traits are that he often thinks about his sister, and his eyes light up when speaking about her. He rarely tells anyone about his past, but when he does he shows trust by telling it to them. Something that he hides from others, is his gentle voice when he hums, which he often uses to calm himself down. History Boris had a hard life, having been forced to participate in a lot of fighting when he was thrown into the dog-fighting rings. In Ukraine, those who know of werewolves, set traps for them, invade their homes and force them to fight one another for the entertainment of cruel men and women. Being part of the Pereverten Pack, which took shelter in the snowy woods around a city called Chernivtsi in Ukraine, Boris and his sister felt safe and protected. Their parents lead the pack and had sacrificed everything they had to keep it together, which earned the loyalty of all the werewolves in the city. Everything went to hell when a group of self-righteous hunters that called themselves "Sobaka Myslyvtsi", which translates to Dog Hunters, arrived in Chernivtsi. The group had been moving from city to city, collecting all the werewolves that they could, and put them in cages that were managed like a circus. The werewolves were forced to kill one another, kill their own families, as the Dog Hunters drugged them and turned them into violent beasts. A crowd would gather, and the Dog Hunters would earn their coins as people placed their bets on who would die. And they did not discriminate, children and the elderly were forced to fight as well. Having been born pure-bloods, Boris and his sister Anya were very valuable for the Dog Hunters, believing they could earn a lot of money as many would love to see them fight. When the Dog Hunters stormed the pack's homes, dragging children out of their beds, Boris' parents laid their lives to protect Anya and him, giving them a chance to escape the invasion into the city, where their human teacher hid them. Boris and Anya learned control of their Lycanthropy from a young age and therefore were allowed to attend school with other students. Nadiya Dyachuk, a human school teacher, was an ally to the Pereverten Pack, and often helped them in having good relations with the residents of the city while keeping their lycanthropy a secret. Thanks to her, for werewolves, Boris and Anya had a good start to their childhood, but that time was over. Their alpha, their father, died protecting them, and their pack was helpless to the cruelty of the Dog Hunters. They hid for three days while Nadiya arranged for transport for the two to escape and leave the country. As they prepared to leave, they were found by the Dog Hunters who broke into Nadiya's home while she was out preparing a vehicle for them to leave in. They each hid in a different spot, and just as the Hunters were about to leave, Anya coughed. They grabbed her by the hair, laughed as she was tossed around. She transformed and fought them, killed two of them, but there were too many. Realizing his sister was about to be taken, Boris charged at the hunters in his wolf form and urged his sister to go find Nadiya and escape. That day was the last day he has ever seen Anya, as he was being restrained, he watched her leave, and the two shared one last look at one another. In the next 30 years of his life, Boris was drugged and forced to fight other werewolves, including members of his own pack. Knowing that his sister was still out there, he had enough willpower to win every single fight. Boris became their trophy fighter, and many people all around the country came to see him fight. Guilt and self-hatred filled him more every day that passed by. He thinks himself to be a villain, a monster not worth of sympathy. He was forced to kill so many werewolves, many of whom were children, and elderly who could barely stand up. As the years went by, Boris' body developed a sort of resistance to the drug, and it eventually had no effect on him. The one fighting in the dog-fighting rings was entirely him, almost as if he was put on autopilot. He often considered just letting his opponents win, and finally, embrace death - but then he realized that it wouldn't matter. The dog fights would continue. One day, Nadiya attended one of his fights, disguised herself as one of the cruel humans in the crowd. She knew that the drug eventually loses effects on its victims, which never mattered because no werewolf ever survived as long as Boris did, but she hoped to use that to his advantage and help him escape. Like the day his parents died, he watched another person sacrifice themselves for him. She opened fire with two pistols, enough to cause a commotion as Boris was transported from one cage to another. This gave him the opportunity to escape, to transform and claw his way through the crowd. But he hesitated, thinking that he doesn't deserve to be saved, thinking that the world would be better off with him not in it. But when Nadiya was shot down, he had to act. He transformed and grabbed her before escaping. Outside she had a vehicle waiting. As they drove off she gave him all of the documents she prepared for him. He was going to leave the country, go to the United States and hide there from the Dog Hunters. But before he had a chance to ask her about his sister, Nadiya succumbed to her wounds and died. Now years later, living in Ember Grove, Boris resides in a small apartment and mostly keeps to himself. He got a job as a lifeguard at the community pool, having always been a swimmer from when he was a child. Still tortured by his past, Boris still thinks himself to be a villain and is caught off guard whenever anyone shows him kindness. When he arrived in town, a lost wolf, weak and sick, he was found by Liam Donovan, who searched for lost wolves like Boris and welcomed him to the Vagus Lupi pack. Having gained a new sense of purpose, and feeling immense gratitude toward being offered a new start, Boris pledged his loyalty to the pack and hoped that one day his sister would join him too. Werewolf Form Boris grows a lot taller when he transforms to his werewolf, almost at 7 feet tall, with strong and slender long limbs. His werewolf form almost resembles a husky with deep blue eyes and a thick coat. Boris's werewolf form allows him to be agile and quick, strong with hardened skin. His combat style can sometimes look very human like, and his anatomy allows him to be able to hold weapons if he needs to. In occasions he will pick up a gun or a sword while still in his werewolf form. Summary of events Boris started the RP sitting on the beach, where he thought he could go to relax after having a panic attack at work. As he tried to calm himself down, humming melodies that reminded him of his mother, Helene showed up. Although at first wary, and fully aware that she was a vampire, Boris took a liking to her due to her kind demeanor. They interaction ended with a promise to come see the sunset together the following day.